Amber Marie Bently

In memory of

Businesswoman, Activist & Artist

Amber Marie grew up in Minden, Nevada, and moved to San Francisco in 1999. A talented, kind, and fashionable woman, she immediately fell in love with the natural beauty and vibrant culture of the Bay Area, devoting her energies to contributing to her new community in a multitude of ways.

Amber Marie and her husband, Christopher Bently, founded Bently Holdings, a property management company dedicated to sustainable building practices. Over the course of years, they forged Bently Holdings into one of the Bay Area’s most ecologically sustainable businesses, refitting several notable properties to cutting-edge green standards.

As an artist, Amber Marie was inspired by the splendors of the natural world, and coupled her ethics and creativity to create her own line of sustainable jewelry. Her hand-made pieces were known for pushing the boundaries of fashion, and were selected for presentation at the DeYoung Museum’s exhibit Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.

The de Young’s director of marketing and communications, Susannah Stringam, invited Amber Marie to design the collection and had this to say of her work:

As one of San Francisco’s most unique artisans, Amber was the perfect choice. Not only does her sense of history and extensive travels infuse her work, but like the treasures from the golden age of Egyptian artistry, her work has timeless and enduring qualities.

A Legacy Lives On

While Amber Marie’s kindness and dedication were well-known throughout our city, her personal life was not. During the last few years, she struggled at times with mental illness, and was suffering acutely in the months before her death. Despite the efforts of close friends and family who tried desperately to reach her, she tragically refused all help.

Amber Marie’s charisma, zeal for green business, artistic sensibility, and innovative spirit lives on not just in the Bently organizations, but as a part of San Francisco itself. She helped make the Bay Area a more beautiful place, and whether it lives on in the lives of the people she helped, the natural splendor she worked to preserve, or in the spirit and fashion of the Bay Area, that beauty will continue to shine with the radiant spirit that was Amber Marie.

She was a wonderful human being who contributed so much to San Francisco. She was greatly loved by friends and family, and we feel her loss deeply and terribly.